Originally called the Zenith, this atomizer line was designed by Phil Busardo and the VapinGreek. The Zlide MTL sub ohm family is for mouth to lung flavor chasing. This tank has gone through several revisions and keeps getting better!

Keep in mind that new tanks are coming out on a daily basis and this guide will be updated regularly.

Best Sub-Ohm Tank for Clouds

Tanks with prebuilt coil inserts

First off, the term sub-ohm (sub-ohming and sub-ohm vaping) used to refer to having a coil resistance under 1 ohm. Vaping over 1 ohm is more for flavor and MTL style. Vaping with lower resistance for direct lung vaping (clouds!).

However, the term 'Sub-Ohm Tank' is now understood to mean a tank that has a pre-built coil insert that has a low resistance, regardless of the type of wire (kanthal, titanium or otherwise).

When you are looking for a good sub-ohm tank, you pretty much want an easy to use, pre-built coil that can really bring huge cloud production.

The Vaporesso Cascade is a 25mm diameter sub-ohm tank that can hold 7ml of e-juice and can handle up to 200W (although the GTM 8 coil gives the best performace under 150W).

Filling the tank to capacity is easy with the slide top fill port.

The liquid sits in the glass up top as usual and the juice cascades down to sit around the coils, instead of the coil just being parked in the juice.

It comes with two GTM coils, one 0.4 ohm (40-80W) and one GTM8 coil (0.15 ohm quadruple vertical coil) that can go from 80 to 200W.

Vaporesso also included a GT coil adapter that lets you use GT family coils for the Vaporesso NRG tank as well as Smok TFV8 Baby Beast coils which is pretty cool.

The coils themselves have double o-rings and are plug style just like the Uwell Crown 3, which is a convenient feature.

Around the base is triple adjustable airflow which provides more than enough airflow to give a pretty huge cloud. The adjustment ring is smooth and has some raised shapes around the ring which provides plenty of grip.

Using the GTM 8 with the quad coil and the airflow open, the flavor is pretty good and the clouds are gigantic! The Vaporesso Cascade provides plenty of vapor production that is sure to satisfy pretty much any cloud chaser.

Pros

Huge clouds! Particularly on the GTM 8 coil, but could get similar results with the coil adapter

The Smok TFV12 Prince is a good pick for most vapers. It looks good, has high capacity and performs well thanks to its large selection of widely available and versatile coil family, which now includes mesh coils! It produces strong, saturated flavor and chucks huge clouds.

Pros

strong, saturated, on point flavor

dense, huge cloud production - depends on coil choice however

high capacity with convex glass

comes with three different coils - from huge clouds with Q4, a mix X6 and flavor with T10

Smok is releasing Mesh and Strip coils for this tank for huge flavor and long life!

The Uwell Valyrian is the new sub-ohm tank from Uwell that takes several design cues from its sister tank, the enormously popular Uwell Crown line.

Uwell designers tried to up the ante when they decided to add some extra features and a new quad coil system to make this a high quality sub-ohm tank with high performance.

One of the major pluses of this tank is the push button flip top. Filling is made fast, easy and convenient with its hinged design. The top is lined so leaking isn't a worry, however the hinge feels a little loose but doesn't effect the utility of this design.

The Valyrian features a new 0.15ohm quad coil design with the coils attached with the standard style threading.

Having quad coils packed into a wide housing really boosts flavor and vapor production. With lots of surface area on the coils to breath and come into contact with the wicking, ramp up time is very low and the vapor is thick and flavorful.

The coils also features wide wicking ports which help for those rapid succession chain hits we all love.The draw back to fast wicking, thick vapor production and high power is the Valyrian is a bit of a thirsty beast.

In addition to the new coils, Uwell also features a new design element: swappable shaped airflow pins. There are two pins included, in addition to the default pin. These shaped pins are actually the contact with your mod and extend into the chimney opening in the coil.

By default, the normal pin is installed, which doesn't extend. This one can be replaced with a spiral shaped pin to swirl the air giving it a kind of vortex or a wave pin which takes up some extra space boosting the flavor by condensing the air. Pretty cool little customization feature for sub-ohm vapers.

Overall, Uwell has released a high quality, high powered sub-ohm tank that really provides a very enjoyable experience with lots of flavor and vapor production.

Version 2 wasn't as well received as the original but now the Uwell Crown 3 has been released and has brought a lot of attention. Everyone is talking about how the new version has brought back the glory to the Crown sub-ohm tanks and this may be the best version yet.

This tank is a real beast. Amazing flavor, great airflow, lots of vapor.

The Crown 3 is a 24.5mm wide vape tank that can hold up to 5ml of juice. It features an anti-leak top fill system that has two 3mm by 6.5mm fill ports.

The "precision adjustable triple airflow system" that has three 11mm x 2mm bottom airflow slots which provide all the air needed for any vaper.

The Crown 3 coils use the new "plug and pull" system that has no threads! Just unscrew the bottom of the tank, pull the coil, plug in the replacement and that's it. Super easy!

Uwell has included 2 stainless steel (sus316) coils one .25ohm (80-90W) and one .5ohm (70-80W) which are parallel vertical coils with 3 juice channels for fast, even wicking.

Another feature is a two piece locking system, which consists of a locking nut and key, that keeps the tank from coming apart when unscrewing the top or bottom. Interesting but if you don't like using it, you can just remove it as it is not necessary.

Overall, this a very good sub-ohm tank (under 100w) that goes well with two battery mod.

Pros

Great Flavor!

Lots of vapor production!

coils are super easy to replace and have a very short break in period

The build quality of this tank is high. It has a really well thought out design and excellent machining.

has a minimum juice indicator on the side of the chimney / coil housing that helps prevent those dry hits

comes with 2 SS (SUS316) coils (.25ohm and .5 ohm), a nice 510 but is easily replaceable, one replacement quartz glass, a uwell crown key (a tool for locking the tank to prevent disassembly) and the usual spare parts

Looking at the HorizonTech Falcon nothing seems to really jump out about it. At first glance actually resembles the Uwell Valyrian quite a bit, but the looks are secondary on this tank.

The top fill on the Falcon is threaded but the top can be undone with just a quarter to half turn making refills pretty quick.

The best thing about the Falcon, is the awesome flavor being produced by this sub-ohm tank. While it also produces quite a bit of vapor, like most tanks these days, the flavor is top shelf.

The Falcon family of coils are really something new that we haven't seen before. Instead of plain organic cotton for wicking material, the coils that come with the tank (F1 and M1) use a combination of 70% organic cotton and 30% wood pulp.

ASPIRE CLEITO EXO

The Cleito EXO is the update to widely popular Cleito sub-ohm tank. Some big changes have been made but this tank still delivers amazing flavor at an amazing price.

The design for the Cleito was very straight forward, as well as traditional, and delivered great results. The EXO got rid of some standard features such as bottom controlled airflow along with the glass tank in favor of top down airflow built right into the PCTG barrel that is impact and chemical resistant. No more breakage and it is also designed to prevent leakage. The new airflow design provides a non-adjustable restricted lung hit that is a similar draw to the Augvape Merlin.

The design of the tank is based around the coil, which uses it as the entire chimney. Aspire altered classic Aspire Cleito coils, which it is still able to use and even comes with one, to have a wider chimney housing. It still contains the same clapton wire but now has a lower resistance and has an extra wicking port.

However when the EXO coil is in place the tank capacity drops from 3.5 ml with the classic coil down to 2 ml making this tank TPD complaint for the U.K. Both coil types perform well, but I prefer the .4 ohm classic coil.

At under $20 for the tank and the coils are widely available thanks to backwards compatability, picking up one of these toppers is an easy choice.

Pros

huge flavor! The clapton wire inside the coil insert really shines.

smooth draw with a restricted lung hit. A very enjoyable vape.

comes with a .16 ohm EXO coil and a .4 ohm classic Cleito coil

no glass to break! This feature is quite nice for the more accident prone among us, believe me.

Cons

uses a delrin sleeve instead of an actual drip tip

if you are looking for controllable airflow and/or glass check out the classic Aspire Cleito!

Classic Sub-Ohm Tanks

These sub-ohm tanks are classic hits that are still widely available and most importantly, have coils available at pretty much every shop.

ASPIRE CLEITO SUB-OHM TANK

Aspire Cleito SubOhm Tank

Rating:

9.0

This is a very simple designed sub-ohm tank that delivers plenty of air flow for good vapor production but was designed for max flavor.

The coil uses a vertical spaced clapton coil and acts as the chimney also making the flavor go right off the chart. Coils come in two resistances and are very common, available at pretty much every vape shop.

If you are looking for an affordable, straight forward, direct lung flavor chasing sub-ohm with controllable bottom airflow, this is the tank for you.

Smok offers the Big Baby Beast which is a 24mm tank that is right between the Baby and the Cloud Beast.

This tank is hugely popular and is featured in several of the sub-ohm vape kits currently being offered by Smok. Thanks to its wide usage by vapers, coils are fairly cheap and can be found in pretty much every vape shop or store on the planet.

It produces huge, dense clouds and pretty good flavor which can all be customized thanks to a huge variety of coil options available in the V8 Baby line of coils. Low ohm, high ohm, huge airflow, restricted airflow, multiple coils are all available.

This tank is has a simple and effective design, with easy swap coils, swivel top with wide juice port, lots of airflow and a large included Delrin drip tip.

Pros

This is a high performance, well designed sub-ohm tank that comes with:

swivel, top fill cap

comes with 2 Baby coils with various resistances (.15 quad and .2 sextuple)

replacement coil inserts are widely available

RBA deck (an add-on that comes with tank but has to be purchased separately if the tank is part of a kit)

Best Vape Tanks to Help Switch from Smoking

Tanks for Mouth to lung vaping (MTL)

If you are going to replace your cigs with an ecig, you want to get a tank with a few features and combine that with a plan for nicotine step down or just plain nic replacement.

The most important feature to shoot for is the ability for a mouth to lung (MTL) draw which simulates taking a drag off a cigarette. This can be accomplished by restricting the airflow on the tank or just getting a tank that is designed for MTL.

Some of the best choices for current or recent ex-smokers may be a MTL sub-ohm listed below or one of the smaller all-in-one vape starter kits.

Best Mouth-to-Lung (MTL) Sub-ohm Tank

The Zenith is a fantastic, low wattage, mouth to lung (MTL) sub-ohm tank design by Phil Busardo and the Vaping Greek.

This tank is the perfect fit for current or recent ex-smokers. When paired with a higher nicotine content tobacco flavored e-liquid, shut the air down to one air hole and this tank could really make a change in someone's life.

It is also great for sub-ohm vapers looking for a good MTL flavor chaser.

Filling the tank is quite straight forward as the Zenith uses a twist to fill design featuring a quite large single fill port.

The tank portion itself is made of glass which is surrounded on the outsides by a metal exoskeleton as seen in other tanks. This gives the tank a juice window appearance which is good for checking the juice level.

The glass is partially protected by the metal but if the glass is somehow broken, it isn't replaceable.

There are five bottom airflow holes on one side of the tank, each of the same dimension, with a easily gripped bottom airflow ring for adjustment.

The airflow can use a single airflow hole up to using all five, which is considered fully open.

This tank is capable of some serious old school mtl flavor chasing with a single air hole (even one partially closed). A very restricted direct lung is achievable with the airflow wide open. The best flavor however comes from three or less airflow holes.

Included with the Zenith are two pretty good 510 drip tips. One of the tips is the standard straight tip and the other is a lip contoured tip. Both tips are quite usable.

Included with the tank are two kanthal coils, one 1.6ohm and one 0.8ohm.

The coils are pretty simple to install as they are pluggable and are notched to correspond with the chassis. The notches are used to align the wicking ports on the coil with a psuedo juice flow control that is closed when the top fill is opened and vice versa.

The weird thing about the coils is that the break-in time seems quite short on the 0.8ohm coil and 1.6 ohm coil takes half a tank or more to break in.

The coils are rated for best use under 18W, so pairing it with a small single battery regulated mod would be a good fit.

While none of the features are new on this tank, it is a great mtl sub-ohm tank that provides a rich, flavorful vape experience.

Pros

Mouth to lung flavor chasing!

pretty good airflow control allowing a single hole to be left open all the way to all five

airflow is easily gripped with adjustment stops on either side

twist to fill system is great and even closes off the wicking channels on the coils

the coils use a plug style insertion system which is great

includes two pretty good Delrin 510 drip tips; one regular and one contoured

RTAs (Rebuildable Tank Atomizers)

Building your own coils for fun and profit! (savings actually)

huge clouds!

Looking for a rebuildable tank? There are plenty of tanks out there for every type of vaper and most vapers love the clouds with lots of airflow but there are also tanks for vapers that like a restricted lung hit or even mouth to lung vaping.

Best RTA Tanks for Clouds

Vape Tanks for consistent cloud chasing (direct lung vaping)

For cloud production, we need plenty of airflow and we need the air fast to mix with the vapor. The tank also needs to be able to supply plenty of juice to the wicks quickly to prevent dry hits when taking successive drags.

Other factors for huge clouds:

coil with a lot of surface area for the most contact between wick a coil

higher VG juice - at least 80/20 but max VG is fine. Remember PG is the flavor carrier but VG is what produces clouds.

the right box mod - a higher wattage mod with good batteries to heat the coils fast

Following up on the hit single, the Geekvape Zeus Dual Coil RTA is a real strong performer with lots of great benefits from great flavor and easy builds, but the best part is that it is LEAK PROOF!

Being leak proof is a feature of the top airflow, bottom loading deck design we have seen a few times before, such as with the OBS Engine and the Digiflavor Themis, both really awesome RTAs.

For those that are unaware, GeekVape and Digiflavor are sister companies who often borrow innovations from each other to enhance their own products.

There are several similarities between the Zeus dual and the Digiflavor Themis including the overall leak proof design, quarter turn top fill, the build deck, internal airflow and sloped base. There are obvious external differences including Zeus lacking the metal cage around the chimney found on the Themis.

Airflow on the Zeus comes in to top airslots, then into the barrel, where in flows past the deck and then back up the two air slots cut into the deck, giving it a pseudo bottom airflow performance. With this design, the deck doesn't need to be locked in place as the airflow is the same no matter how the deck is aligned.

The deck on the Zeus is the standard four terminal postless build deck that will take single or dual coil builds. There are raised air channels on the sides and two large wicking channels cut into the side. When building this deck, leave the wicks just long enough to tuck into the base to prevent choking the juice flow.

After building the deck, it loads right up into the chamber, tighten and it couldn't be easier.

Filling the tank is very simple. The top comes off with a locking quarter turn, which is easy and secure. On the underside of the top is a silicone gasket for preventing any seepage. Straight from the factory, Zeus holds only 4ml of juice, but can be expanded to 5.5ml with a bubble glass but unfortunately it is a separate purchase.

Overall, this is a really good top airflow RTA with great flavor and NO LEAKS!

Pros

LEAK PROOF design

smooth top airflow

great flavor and vapor production for an fantastic vape experience

easy to build postless deck

standard four terminal postless build deck for single or dual coil builds

The Digiflavor Themis a leak proof, top airflow, dual coil post-less build deck RTA. If you liked the OBS Engine, which is a great RTA, you will like the Themis RTA.

It is LEAK PROOF! There isn't any seepage collecting under or around the bottom, it doesn't flood (unless there isn't enough cotton) and it doesn't drain if it gets left on its side. If you have problems wicking other RTAs, this is one to try.

The build deck is a four terminal post-less design that can handle single or dual coil builds as usual.

The build deck loads into the bottom of the RTA and locks into the chimney keeping the coils perfectly aligned with the airflow slots.

The deck features two half moon wicking channels that have small holes in the bottom to allow juice to come in from the bottom and get soaked up by your wicks.

Digiflavor utilizes a quarter turn locking top which makes for easy filling and remains securely fastened. On the underside of the top is a silicone grommet to keep the juice for seeping out the top.

Included is an 810 drip, but also included is a 510 and an adapter. This RTA takes other 810s as well and 810 seems like the perfect size.

The Themis RTA has smooth and abundant airflow at wide open for plenty of vapor production. At slightly closed it seems to have a sweet spot with a semi-restricted lung hit which is great. This RTA does get a bit noisy when shutdown half way or more.

The vape you get off this RTA is pretty good. It gives a big cloud with an enjoyable draw. The flavor is also pretty good but the RTA isn't designed around flavor like some other RTAs. The main feature is the top airflow and leak free design.

Overall, the Digiflavor Themis provides a great vape experience, good flavor with plentiful clouds and the best part is no leaks!

This is probably one of most well regarded tanks of the past year. It features top down airflow, top fill and a familiar two post velocity deck with innovative bottom wicking. Huge bonus: No bottom juice seepage!

Pros

innovative, controllable top down airflow and chamber/chimney design that provides dense, flavorful vapor

build deck design features the familiar velocity style two post deck but has fast bottom wicking with the deck locking into the chimney. This provides juice coming around and under the chimney. This deck inspired the Troll RTA.

The juice fill port is located behind a sliding ring at the top of the tank (5+ml capacity)

These design elements combined perform admirably and NO LEAKS! The top down airflow prevents flooding seen on bottom airflow tanks but there is no seepage either.

Best Tank for Flavor

RTAs for flavor and taste

Getting good flavor is of prime concern to a lot of vapers out there. Instead of just huge clouds and you might simply want to maximize the taste of the apple pie, coffee or whatever flavored juice and don't want to use a good RDA.

Conventional wisdom is pretty straight forward here and it isn't quite the complete opposite as cloud chasing tanks, flavor and cloud tanks often have a lot of crossover.

Features we want in a good flavor tank:

A flavor tank needs a smaller chamber and a shorter chimney

smooth airflow but we want better airflow control to dial in the kind of draw the tank gives or restrict the airflow for a denser cloud.

a good build deck; perhaps have the option for single coil.

When you are selecting your juice, keep in mind that the propelyne glycol (PG) is the flavor carrier in the liquid so you probably won't get amazing flavor from max VG. PG does increase the throat hit so look for a mix that suits you.

Some flavor chasers go with 50/50, which is not very thick and gives a hell of a throat hit, but most just go with 70/30 to 80/20 VG/PG.

Wotofo has updated the Serpent single coil RTA and this might be the best one so far. It has an easy to build, single coil, postless build deck and includes just about everything one needs to get a build going fast.

The top down airflow combined with tried and true design features make this a quite enjoyable, leak free RTA that is sure to please flavor chasers looking for a restricted lung hit.

Pros

Great Flavor!

Top airflow - No seepage! No Leaks!

fantastic design, high build quality, aesthetic appeal

lots of great accessories - coils, cotton, tips, bubble glass

easy to build - coil trimming tool and agleted cotton cut down on time and labor

The GeekVape Blitzen is a fantastic RTA that looks good and performs like a champ.

It has several features, like the honeycomb side airflow among others, that remind me of the killer UD Bellus from back in the day.

This deck has a low profile 2ml glass section that provides a sleek look but the tank is convertible to 5ml by installing an included chimney extension and bubble glass.

Juice comes down from the tank well through slots right to the wicks. The wicking ports are quite large and moon shaped similar to other postless decks.

The Blitzen features a four terminal postless build deck for a large single coil or dual coils. This RTA works best with dual coils.

The deck is fairly easy to build, particularly if you're familiar with this build style.

The deck locks into the tank chassis with the help of matching notches to align perfectly with the side airflow.

The airflow utilizes a rotating middle ring with oval shaped cutout over 16 air holes configured in a honeycomb pattern. This design makes airflow very smooth and easily controllable.

The airflow can go from providing a fairly tight restricted lung hit all the way to a vaporous direct lung hit. At a little less than half open the vape is very smooth, warm, dense and flavorful.

The flavor being produced on this RTA is simply unreal. At halfway open the clouds are thick with a bright, saturated flavor.

The Blitzen is 810 drip tip compatible and comes with a pretty good looking low profile resin 810.

Overall, this RTA is a real badass! It has huge flavor and the clouds are real dense. The flavor rivals any RTA and is really into RDA flavor territory in my opinion. Don't pass up this RTA just because of the bubble glass look!

Pros

Great Flavor!

plenty of vapor production, dense flavorful clouds!

smooth airflow and plenty of control thanks to the hole configuration and ring shape

honeycomb style side airflow - airy when wide open but dense flavorful clouds at little less than half way open

Out of the package, preinstalled in the Bravo has a silicon gasket in the tank section to comply with the 2ml capacity euro rules, which should be removed.

Wotofo includes lots of spare glass which is great. It comes with a 4ml glass installed and a spare of the same size but it also comes with a 6ml bubble glass that actually looks good! It isn't super fat in the middle but even width from top to bottom which is is a nice touch from Wotofo.

Prominently featured all over the edges of the Bravo is hatched knurling, which really works here. Not only does it provide good grip on every rotatable surface but it also has a pretty good aesthetic.

The Bravo comes with a color matching acrylic 810 drip tip which sits flush against the top of the tank which is unscrewed for accessing the top fill.

Building the Bravo is pretty straight forward thanks to its two post clamp style build deck. All there is to do is lower the clamps using the top mounted phillips screws, slide in the coils on both sides and adjust, then reclamp the post and clip. Each clamp holds two leads, so preclipping the coils is an option.

The clamp really works out great for flat wire builds such as flat claptons. Wotofo even included a set of wide flat claptons.

Clamp decks can be a bit awkward to use for beginning builders but it shouldn't be too hard to adjust to using.

On the deck are two wide, rectangular, bottom airflow ports, which should hit the entire width of the coils for maximum flavor production.

There are four individual wicking ports cut into the deck to drop the wicks through the deck and into the tank for even and consistent wicking. It is OK to leave the wicks long as they will just soak up the e-juice from the bottom like an RDTA.

As with other similarly wicked Wotofo RTAs, the deck is secured to the chimney by the outside edge of the deck and not the inside edge of the base.

Combined with the bottom airflow on the deck is very wide adjustable side airflow slots. Leaving the adjustable airflow at wide open is unnecessary due to the smaller width of the inner airflow and is a bit loud.

Overall, the Wotofo Bravo is a pretty darn good flavor RTA with dense, warm vapor, a straight forward clamp style build deck, high capacity and comes with lots of goodies.

Pros

great flavor!

dense clouds

high capacity

clamp style build deck which is great for the ever popular flat clapton coils

bottom airflow on deck for big flavor enhancement

comes with a 4ml glass (and a spare) and a 6ml capacity bubble glass

the bubble glass looks good!

knurling all around top and bottom for grip but also as part of the aesthetic

The Vandy Vape Kensei is a very wonderful, well performing flavor RTA and is the spiritual successor to the fan favorite Kylin RTA.

Featured on the Kensei is a staggered terminal two post build deck like the Geekvape Peerless RDA, which is easy to build and has wide terminals which can accommodate large coil builds.

To build the gold plated deck you just slide the coils in from the side, adjust and trim like any other horizontal coil deck but the great thing about this deck is the top mounted screws prevent any coil mangling like side mounted screws.

On the deck are fantastic bottom airflow slots which have a honeycomb pattern which smooth out the airflow and spread the air over the entire width of the coil, which is helps to provide an even draw and flavor enhancement.

There are unified wicking ports on this deck which are shared between the coils and the juice port cut out is very wide. While the juice has plenty of access to the coils, which will help the wicking keep up with the chain vapers, this design requires plenty of cotton to be used to fill the space so a larger diameter coil is recommended.

There shouldn't be an leaking issues with the Kensei as long as enough cotton is used to fill the wicking ports.

The Kensei's juice flow control on this tank works great and there aren't any leaking issues. There are large slots that can be adjusted to hit the unified wicking ports but in actual usage it is either all the way open or closed for filling.

Vandy Vape decided to go with a classic screw on top fill, with huge grip cutouts for easy access which reveal very large fill ports underneath.

The fill port section is very thin so gripping it disassemble the tank for cleaning or installing the bubble glass is made easy with the included metal key.

Out of the package, the Kensei is pre-configured with the normal glass which has a 2m capacity but can be converted to 4ml with the use of the included bubble glass.

The Kensei comes with a very colorful acrylic 810 drip but can be switched for pretty much any other tip. There is no raised drip tip port so all tips should be flush with the top.

Overall, the flavor is great, the airflow is smooth with plenty of warm vapor production, the juice keeps up, and it is easy to build.

Other Solid (Classic) Flavor RTA Choices

The Kylin RTA from Vandy Vape is a fantastic flavor chasing tank that has several really stand out features that make this a pretty solid pick for a lot of vapers out there.

This tank comes with two assembly modes. One shorter, smaller capacity 2ml mode and one larger, taller 6ml mode. The 2ml mode puts out more flavor but the 6ml has more convenience. The tank comes with two chimneys and two glass sections.

The Kylin RTA has a screw on top fill system with wide kidney shaped fill ports. The top is secured with a knurled cap. Included with the tank are several drip tips of varying sizes to suit any vaper. All of the tips were good to use.

It has a very good gold plated build deck. The deck is postless meaning the coils stand vertically out of the deck instead of jutting horizontally. This has the benefit of allowing the coils to be packed inside the chimney in a way that cuts down on empty space, increasing the flavor thanks to more dense vapor.

This deck is perfect for two clapton coils but is more thank capable of taking a single larger diameter coil if desired.

Build into the side of the deck are two very wide wicking channels. This design assists in single coils builds but really aids in the cotton wicking very fast due to the fact that so much surface area is exposed to the juice in the tank. Dry hits are going to be pretty rare on this tank (unless the tank doesn't get filled)!

The deck has built in bottom and bottom side airflow ports that really makes the flavor pop thanks to the air hitting the coils from all sides.

The vapor production is pretty good on this RTA thanks to dual air slots. There is a clicky bottom airflow control ring. The airflow is pretty smooth and there isn't any whistling when the air is shutdown.

Pros

great flavor and smooth airflow

The deck is great to look at but provides an innovative air flow design (bottom and under-side) for great flavor

takes claptons well in single or dual coil builds. (Single builds will require larger diameter coils to have enough cotton to fill wicking channel)

very big kidney shaped top fill ports w/ large notch styled knurling along the top

multiple RDA style wide bore drips which are all pretty good

510 adapter included in case you have a favorite tip

doesn't whistle

some people reported leaks on the first version of these tanks which has been remedied according to the manufacturer. I haven't experienced leaking this issue with the new version.

The Augvape Merlin Nano is the most compact incarnation of the killer MTL RTA series. The Merlin Nano features a hidden airflow design for leak free usage while retaining customizable mouth to lung draw from tight to loose.

Use with a high freebase or salt nic vape juice and a single battery vape mod to kick the sticks.

This MTL RTA is simple to use, simple to build that provides a quite enjoyable flavor chasing experience. This RTA really is too good to not try -- it could be your new favorite!

Pros

Great MTL Flavor chasing!

Smooth draw

Use your favorite salt nic vape juice

Easy single coil builds - 2mm nano coils and simple wicking

Leak Free design!

comfortable 510 drip tip included - replace with your own favorite

Low wattage for super long battery life

3 draw inserts - from tight to loose mouth to lung - everyone will probably like at least one

The Innokin Ares is designed by mouth to lung YouTube legends Phil Busardo and Dimitris Agrafiotis. Their design is a real MTL RTA champ too with really great flavor, an easy deck and really versatile airflow control.

It comes with two 510 drip tips which really match well with mouth to lung style vaping with a standard strait tip and a lip contoured drip tip.

Filling is fast with the ever convenient push to fill top.

The build deck is a two post single terminal build deck that should be familiar to single coil builders out there.

One the deck is a bottom airflow port with a circular series of holes, which is a design trend that seems to keep the airflow from getting turbulent

Just slide the coils in, position the coil and wick. Wicking is a breeze as you just tuck them into the side of the deck and reattach the top.

Since the chamber screws around the deck over the wicking, old school style, you have to watch out for the cotton getting bound in the threading.

The bell shaped chamber really seems to boost the flavor by compressing the vapor into the slim chimney.

The airflow on the Ares is really incredible in my opinion. The Ares has the standard series of reducing air holes from 2mm down to 0.5mm but unlike other MTL tanks, there is a wide open option to use all or several of the airholes in addition to the single air selector.

This multiple air hole selector makes this RTA really great as it allows the Ares to be able to do restricted lung hits which is pretty damn cool. Mouth to lung AND restricted lung hits makes this RTA a real all-star.

If you are looking for an easy to use MTL flavor chasing RTA lots of airflow options, give the Ares a try!

Pros

Great flavor!

incredible air flow control

the draw can go from tight mouth to lung all the way up to restricted direct lung

The Vandy Vape Berserker is a real home run for mouth to lung vapers and flavor chasers out there who are looking for a good RTA.

With a tight draw and a restricted chamber, the Berserker can really produce some outstanding flavor. Couple that with a deck that takes simple, higher ohm, single coil builds, low wattage all day flavor chasing is made easy with this tank.

The deck is a simple two screw, where the screws act like a hook and post, that reminds one of the Wotofo Serpent build deck. To build the deck: place a single coil right over the air hole, with the leads hooked under the screws.

Instead of the over hand, clockwise or right handed wrap, just wrap the coils left or counter-clockwise.

Vandy Vape decided to make this RTA capable of two configurations, a smaller capacity (2ml) and a larger 4.5ml capacity, certainly thanks to EU regulations. The smaller version comes with a shorter chimney and an ULTEM glass section.

The smaller chimney produces warmer vapor in my opinion and since it is a MTL RTA, the capacity isn't a problem. With the taller chimney, the vape is a little cooler and still has outstanding flavor, but doesn't have to be refilled for what seems like more than a day.

Filling this tank is a simple operation. Screw off the top and fill through one of the large kidney shaped ports. The knurling can be a little slick if you have some juice on your fingers.

While this tank has dual airflow, it isn't the normal wide slot style. It has a series of 5 holes on each side, which you can select from, ranging from small (0.8mm) to twice the size of the smallest (1.6mm). I wish there was one more hole just to get a little closer to restricted lung hit but that would defeat the purpose of the tank.

At the largest airflow setting, the Berserker provides a tight draw, that is very close to a cigarette. Paired with a good tobacco flavored juice, this tank would be a good choice for a vaper looking for a close simulation.

Personally, I like this tank with dessert and fruit flavored juices. The flavors really pop in a way that direct lung vapes just can't provide.

Pros

True RTA MTL (rebuildable tank w/ mouth to lung draw)

excellent flavor production paired with enjoyable draw

draw is reminiscent of smoking

high build quality

easy small builds

higher ohm / low wattage builds for all day single battery flavor chasing

Common Questions

What type of coil is best for vaping?

It depends on the individual and the type of vaping experience they are looking to achieve.

For sub-ohm tanks, many tanks come several different coil options. When sub-ohm vaping, keep in mind that airflow is important.

Single opening sub-ohm coils with a wider airflow will produce more clouds than a coil that has a smaller restricted chimney section.

Often longer, thinner single sub-ohm coils will produce amazing flavor as is the case with the Cleito coils, thanks to its clapton wire.

Mesh sub-ohm coils also have a lot of surface area and produce pretty good flavor and the coils last a long time.

Sub-ohm coils with multiple coils will often produce more flavor than just single coils due to the surface area of wire touching the cotton. This could include multiple wires in a single coil or multiple coil openings such as with quad coils that have four coils and four airflows.

For most builds, it all comes down to surface area of the coil. Just think about it, the more coil that is in contact with the wick the more juice will be vaporized.

One of the easiest coil builds for beginners is just a simple single spaced coil, like a 2.5 mm or larger, 22 gauge wrap.

Twisted coils are exotic and also fairly easy to accomplish. Coils get more complicated from there with various styles of clapton coils.

Spaced coils are fast to make, don't have to be dry fired because there won't be any hot spots. These days, all the coils I personally build with are spaced, even the clapton coils.

To make a spaced coil, just wrap the wire tightly around the build tool but leave generous spacing between each wrap. After wrapping the desired amount of times, compress each side of the coil together while it is still on the tool.

To make a prebuilt coil spaced, just stretch it out and then recompress the coil on the appropriate diameter rod.

Clapton coils are great for flavor and cloud chasing since the way they are built, the coil themselves actually hold and absorb liquid. This helps limit dry hits on consistent pulls but also more liquid is in contact with the heated coil.

What is a Clearomizer?

how ecigs work

Let's get some quick terminology out of the way. At the very basic level a vaporizer of any type is simply a power source like a battery and some sort of heating element that that converts a liquid or oil into a vapor.

This process is called atomization, there fore we call the heating element unit an atomizer.

Any type of tank, clearomizer, rda is an atomizer an most even have the word atomizer in their name, such as RTA (rebuildable tank atomizer). As e-cigarette technology evolved, we started using the very common and familiar cig-a-like tech.

Cigalike devices, commonly purchased from ebay, gas stations and smoke shops, utilized a very simplistic atomizer, called a cartomizer. The were usually prefilled cartridges with an atomizer element build in, hence cartomizer.

The diagram above shows the generation after cigalikes with the first model of clearomizer and more modern style mod.

various clearomizer / mod combos

When the e-cig was invented, it had the type of look as the cig-a-like. As someone who bought one of these first gen e-cigs, if you didn't know, they really sucked!

Adopting these devices led to a simply incredible explosion in variety of devices and designs. The design no matter how cool still comes down to the basics of battery, atomizer and juice.

Modern day clearomizers still have the same kind of mechanics behind them. Instead of questionable plastics, we have stainless steel and pyrex.

Instead of a teeny tiny juice tank filled with horrible tasting nicotine juice, we have a tanks that can hold 2 ml and tanks that can hold 6 ml or more of delicious made in the USA juice.

There are two types of modern clearomizers. Ones that have a built in deck and you supply your own coil (heating element for vaporizing the goods) or ones that you just insert a new coil in cartridge form.

Often tanks will come as kind of a hybrid, which can take standard sub-ohm coil pack inserts or a rebuildable deck (RBA base) that allow you to build your own coil.

Common sizes for tanks is 22 mm, 24mm, 25 mm or bigger diameters, which just refers to the width of the tank at the base.

As with most things in life, size does matter. The size of the tank is determined by the function of the tank. Smaller tanks can be used more readily when traveling and smaller tanks (with smaller chambers and chimneys) usually provide better flavor.

When choosing a tank also look at the airflow design which will determine the type of draw the tank is capable of. If you are looking for a mouth to lung draw, which is similar to an analog cigarette, you want a tank with a very restricted airflow.

Direct lung vaping needs a more airy draw and if you are looking for clouds, the more air the better.

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These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose,
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